


Christmas on the Road

by matchsticks_p (matchsticks)



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-21
Updated: 2010-03-21
Packaged: 2017-10-08 04:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matchsticks/pseuds/matchsticks_p
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something short, warm, and fluffy for the holidays. (set Christmas 2005-ish)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas on the Road

  
Gerard approached the bus warily. He could hear the faint strains of bright, shiny music tinkling from inside the bus all the way from several feet away.

They had stopped for a quick break. The bus driver had explained to them, using simple words and lots of hand motions, that buses run on gas and gas needs to be refilled. Ray had been delighted and asked the driver if he could talk to them in his story-time voice all the time; the driver had just ignored him and turned into the next truck stop. Gerard found it interesting that the guy they paid to drive them around seemed to have more of a say in their lives than they themselves did. Then again, the bus driver probably had more common sense than they did, so maybe they shouldn't complain.

While the driver filled up, Bob and Mikey took the opportunity to go stock up on snacks at the convenience store; Ray ran off to chat with truck drivers milling around by the washrooms; Gerard went inside said washrooms to take advantage of the rare opportunity to pee in a stationary facility. Frank, for some reason, insisted on staying inside the bus. Gerard thought it was a little strange, but he generally thought Frank was a little strange, so he just didn't ask.

Walking back to the bus, though, Gerard wondered if he should have allowed Frank to stay on the bus without supervision. The sun was beginning to set, and through the gathering dusk Gerard could clearly make out…lights. Blinking lights, glowing through the bus windows. He squinted. What the hell was Frank doing in there? His curiosity overcame his cautiousness and he stepped onto the bus.

"What the…"

The bus was…red. And green. And gold. And silver. All over. "How did you manage to wreak so much havoc in—" he checked his watch— "eighteen minutes?"

"It's not havoc," Frank told him, "it's Christmas!"

"I…can see that," Gerard said, eyeing the bus. There were coloured lights hung around the windows, holly and mistletoe pinned up on the walls, and tinsel draped on every available surface left over. Jazzy Christmas music poured from the speakers of their CD player. "Very festive. Why does it smell like a coffee shop in here?"

"That's because I'm making coffee and hot chocolate, and I have gingerbread baking in the little mini toaster-oven thing."

"Why are you doing all this?"

Frank checked on his gingerbread. "Because it's Christmas, duh! I thought we could use a bit of Christmas cheer around here, since we're all bummed about not being able to go home for Christmas." He poured some coffee into a mug with a reindeer painted on it, then bounced over to Gerard. "Here."

Gerard took a sip. Damn, it wasn't just any coffee—it was some fancy holiday blend. He wondered when Frank had time to pick it up. In fact, he wondered when Frank had time to get any of this stuff.

"Frankie?"

Frank looked up from hanging a wreath around the bathroom doorknob. "Hmm?"

"How'd you get all of this done so quickly?"

He walked right up to Gerard and whispered, "The elves helped me." He grinned and stood up on his tiptoes to kiss Gerard's cheek.

Gerard pulled him into a fuller kiss. He tasted like peppermint and cinnamon.

Their kiss was interrupted by a squeal of "Oh my god, Christmas came to our bus!"

It was Mikey, coming back from the convenience store with a bag full of stuff. Frank turned to smile at him. "Yep! Surprise!"

Mikey ran over to give Frank a hug. "You rule!"

Bob, climbing onto the bus behind Mikey, said, "Whoa. Are we on the wrong bus?"

"No. Frankie and his imaginary elf friends made Christmas come to our bus," Gerard explained.

"Oh. Cool." Bob sniffed the air. "Is that gingerbread?"

"It is. We can eat it when someone drags Ray back onto the bus. The bus driver says we're ready to leave."

Bob and Mikey quickly volunteered Gerard for that job, and he ended up having to coax Ray away from his new best friends.

"Come on, Ray. It's time to stop bothering the truck drivers and get back to bothering your bandmates."

"Okay," Ray said regretfully. "Bye, guys. It was really nice talking to you. Tell your daughter happy birthday for me, Ron. And have fun in Mexico next week, Ralph. Don't worry, Manny, your wife will get better soon." Ray had something to say to each and every one of them, and a few of them shook hands with him. One even hugged him.

Gerard led him back to the bus. "What took you so long?" Bob asked over his hot chocolate.

"He was fraternizing with truck drivers again," Gerard explained.

"Ah."

"Oh my god, Frankie! Did you do all of this?" Ray gasped, looking around the bus.

Frank grinned and nodded. "Want some gingerbread?"

Ray bypassed the gingerbread to squish Frank with a great big hug. "You're so awesome!"

"Well, I figured this place needed a little Christmas spirit. Just 'cause we're not home doesn't mean we can't still celebrate."

Everyone agreed with this sentiment. Mikey piped up and said, "Frank, you need a Christmas present. This—" he waved his hands around to indicate the entire bus— "is obviously your gift to us. But we have to give you something back." He rummaged around inside his bag of goodies until he came up with a pack of watermelon bubblegum. "Here you go," he said, handing it to Frank. "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you," Frankie replied, accepting it.

The bus started up, and they were on the road again. The band settled down to enjoy the evening. Bob sat at the table and munched on gingerbread cookies, while Ray and Mikey danced to the Christmas music with coffees in their hands. Gerard sat on the couch and pulled Frank down with him.

Frank arranged himself until he was nice and cosy, his head on Gerard's shoulder and the rest of him tucked against his side. "I got gum," he murmured, showing his pack of bubblegum to Gerard.

"Very nice," Gerard replied. He rested his cheek on the top of Frank's head, watching Ray and his brother make complete fools of themselves. Bob caught his eye and raised his mug of hot chocolate in a salute. Gerard smiled back, then turned to kiss Frankie's forehead. This wasn't so bad after all. Maybe they couldn't spend Christmas at home with their families, but they could still celebrate here, with the other family that they had created for themselves.  


**Author's Note:**

> first posted on LiveJournal on 2005-Dec-22


End file.
